Federal Immigration Authorities Deport Murder Suspect, Detain Two Other Illegal Immigrants In Massachusetts
By Tom Joyce | November 30, 2024, 8:33 EST
Federal immigration authorities have recently taken into custody three illegal immigrants in Massachusetts charged with crimes.
1. Charged With Second-Degree Child Molestation-Sexual Assault
ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston arrested a Dominican illegal immigrant named Belardis Tapia Gonzalez on November 18. He has been charged with second-degree child molestation-sexual assault in Rhode Island, according to an ICE press release.
“A person is guilty of a second degree child molestation sexual assault if he or she engages in sexual contact with another person fourteen (14) years of age or under,” Rhode Island General Laws state.
Tapia Gonzalez entered the United States illegally around July 2021, according to federal immigration authorities.
The Fugitive Operations Team of the Boston office of Enforcement and Removal Operations arrested the man in Lynn, Massachusetts. Federal law enforcement officers served him with a notice to appear before a U.S. Department of Justice immigration judge. He was in ICE custody as of Thursday, November 21.
“ERO Boston is tasked with keeping our communities safe from potentially dangerous noncitizens — particularly those accused of crimes so egregious as child sexual assault,” ERO Boston acting Field Office Director Patricia H. Hyde said in the written statement. “Our officers apprehended Tapia, who has been accused of terrible crimes, after we discovered that a court in Warwick, Rhode Island, released him on bail.”
2. Wanted For Homicide
3. Confirmed MS-13 Member
Federal immigration authorities arrested 24-year-old Salvadoran national and confirmed MS-13 gang member Jose Luis Castro Jovel in Northampton, Massachusetts on November 12, according to an ICE press release.
Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston lodged an immigration detainer with Northampton District Court, which did not honor it.
Castro entered the country illegally at an unknown date, time, and location, but a U.S. Department of Justice immigration judge ordered his removal on March 22, 2023. Yet Castro remained in America. Then, on January 26, 2024, Northampton police arrested the man on charges of assault and battery of a family or household member.
Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston lodged an immigration detainer against him with the Northampton District Court, which followed the man to the Hampden County Correctional Center, where he was detained after his arraignment. However, the state district court released him on February 12, 2024, without telling federal immigration authorities.
On October 24 a Northampton District Court judge dismissed the assault-and-battery charges, after prosecutors decided not to press the case, according to online state court records.
Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston’s Fugitive Operations Team on November 12 arrested Castro on a Northampton public roadway.
“ERO Boston is committed to keeping our communities safe, and we do that in partnership with local law enforcement,” ERO Boston acting Field Office Director Patricia H. Hyde said in the release. “But the bottom line is that immigration detainers are public safety tools. We use them to keep potentially dangerous noncitizens off our streets, and when officials don’t honor them, it puts our friends, families and neighbors at risk.”
New to NewBostonPost? This isn’t the kind of content you’d expect to find in a Massachusetts news outlet. But here it is. You can get more news and commentary that respects conservative values for two bucks — $2 for two months. Join the real revolution.